


Second chances

by hali



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 10:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17979599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hali/pseuds/hali
Summary: Thomas Riker has a lot of catching up to do. Will is reminded of all his past mistakes and choices. Deanna is on the verge of going through the same heartbreak twice. Maybe this time they can all do better.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I remember watching that episode of TNG where suddenly there are two Rikers and thinking: OMG, this is such an awesome premise for fanfiction, surely there is plenty on the topic... and then there was none. So I had to start writing my own to get it out of my head. And then years passed, and I stumbled upon this unfinished work and thought, why not.  
> I've got two chapters and some plot bunnies for where it goes. I might yet turn the plot bunnies into an actual story. But no promises. I'll put the bunnies out there as chapter 3 if I don't make progress sometime soon.
> 
> Let me know if anyone's interested, and I might setup more time for this in my days to refresh canon in my head and get it going. :-)
> 
> Warnings: no beta, non-native English, and I last watched TNG in 2015. I might rewrite and rename this in the process.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go now.”  
“Of course. We will talk later, Tom.”  
Deanna closed the communication channel and sighed. It has been three months now since Thomas Riker got assigned to Gandhi, and with each passing week it was more and more clear to her that they were falling apart. History was repeating itself. Despite all their affection for each other, long distance relationship just did not work for the two of them: they were both too sensual and too career driven. They missed each other but they were also both busy all the time, and their schedules didn’t work well together, and the inability to touch each other and do things together wasn’t helping... they got distracted, they learned to be apart, and - she knew - they were quickly losing that second chance life gave them. It hurt. She really did hope that this time they will make it work.

Deanna never stopped loving Riker, he was too much a part of her. When they met on the Enterprise she was barely over him, and Will was on his way to getting his own ship. Or at least that’s what she thought at the time - that he wants few years on the Enterprise before he accepts his command and goes away, yet again leaving her behind. He made it clear he was not ready to compromise his career for her. There was no point trying to restart their relationship at the time so they decided to try and be friends. Over the years they became best friends, and despite the occasional sparks and loaded looks they remained just that. She learned to live with it and quite enjoyed their friendship - that is until they found another William Thomas Riker who brought all those feelings back to the surface again. She was hesitant at first, but Thomas convinced her to try, and she let herself hope. And now she was losing him to his career - again... oh well, she really should’ve known better.

Deanna looked at the clock - there were still a couple of hours before her next shift. No point spending it sitting in her quarters and feeling sorry for herself. She got up and decidedly headed for Ten Forward. It was chocolate sundae time.

***  
William T. Riker barely walked into Ten Forward when he noticed Deanna at her usual table finishing what must have been one of her huge desserts. She didn’t see him, and he couldn’t help but notice how sad she looked when she didn’t try to make a happy face for anyone. He didn’t have to ask what happened, it was easy enough to guess. Over the last months he watched Deanna go through all kinds of emotions, mostly the happy ones. She was glowing for a while, and he knew it was because she was in love. He liked seeing her like that - as beautiful as ever, and happy as he haven’t seen her in a long time. But lately it’s been replaced by sadness. He guessed his warning about his other self wasn’t wrong: Deanna was getting her heart broken again. And yet again it was his fault - though this time in a very weird way. He knew that he and Thomas were separate people with their own experiences and quarks but somehow he felt responsible for his actions towards Deanna. Maybe it wasn’t even about Tom, maybe it was just because he cared for her so much, and arrogant as it might be he also knew how much Tom could hurt her... this would not stand. He couldn’t do much, but he was going to at least try to protect her.

Will turned around and left Ten Forward without Deanna ever noticing he was there. In his quarters he stood still for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts, then turned on communication device and tried to contact Thomas Riker on Gandhi. The man was on duty, so Will left a personal message asking Tom to call him back when he had a chance.

It was only the next day that the other Riker contacted him. For a long few seconds they both looked at each other silently. It was still very weird to talk to an almost perfect copy of yourself...  
“You shaved your beard”, - said Will. Tom shrugged.  
“Didn’t want to look exactly like you. And it suits me better.”  
Will raised his brow to that statement, but didn’t argue. He had more important things to discuss, and he wasn’t in the mood to spend time neither on banter nor on pleasantries.  
“What did you promise Deanna?”  
“I don’t see how it is any of your business.”  
“It becomes my business when you don’t keep those promises and make her miserable.”  
“Excuse me?”, - Tom managed to sound scandalised and threatening at the same time, but Will knew himself too well to be fooled by that.  
“Don’t play an idiot, you know perfectly well what I’m talking about... if you are not serious about it, let her go now, before she gets hurt.”  
“Why are you so sure I’m going to hurt her?”  
“Because that is what I did. I put career on the first place, and she suffered. I know you will try to catch up for all those years, and I know you will not have enough time for her. All I’m saying is don’t give her false hopes. She doesn’t deserve to go through it again.”  
“She is also an adult woman. And I am not your subordinate, so I don’t have to listen to your opinion on the matters. So if that is all, commander, I have other business to attend to.”  
Will couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He tried to be nice to this guy, tried to save him from the same mistakes he’s done - hurting Deanna hurt him as well, badly - and that was his gratitude?! Ignorant arrogant punk! He was just about to verbalise it all, but in the few seconds he remained silent, Tom hung up on him.

The call left Will pissed off and annoyed at himself. It was like talking to Wo, but worse, because where Wo reminded him of his young self, Tom actually was him in a way. Tom never learned what he had learned over the last eight years, he remained in the same mindset that Riker spent so much time changing. It was thoroughly annoying. No way Tom was good enough for Deanna... Will better be there for her when it all goes to hell. And be there he will.

***  
Thomas was angry. He was angry at himself for being childish and hanging out on the other Riker, he was angry at his counterpart for telling him what to do and assuming he is going to screw up, and then he was back to being angry at himself for actually screwing up. It annoyed him to agree to his clone, but he wasn’t an idiot, and he could see that their relationship with Deanna was getting colder and colder.  
Tom lost eight years. And now not only he had to catch up with all the changes in technology and in history, he also had a huge shadow of his luckier self to deal with. Crew on Gandhi knew perfectly well who William T. Riker was - a decorated officer with vast and diverse experience, one of the best in Starfleet. They looked at Thomas, and they expected him to be just that. They thought they were lucky to get a second best Riker, which was still pretty good - after all, Gandhi was not Enterprise... Tom resented it, and he did all he could to separate himself from that other Riker in the eyes of his fellow crewmen, but it was hard: all they knew about Will was stories, they didn’t know him as a person, and they could not therefore see any differences between the two. All that struggle to get his life back didn’t leave much time for love. Tom could already see he will need years to yearn his own reputation, to become Thomas Riker instead of “commander Riker’s transporter clone”. Deanna deserved better.

All those years he spent alone on the base, all those times he thought he was going crazy - the only thing that kept him sane was his love for Deanna, his strong faith that they belonged together, and that those feelings are bigger than distance and time separating them. He truly believed that if he got another chance to see her, to be with her, he would fight for it with all his might... and now that he had that chance, he was letting it slip. Tom tried to fool himself with the plans to bring Deanna on Gandhi in another three months, but deep down he knew - she would not come. He wasn’t present, wasn’t real enough for her to throw her career away for him. Only a voice and a face on communicator screen - that’s what he was. Why would she give up anything for that, when she could already have a voice, and a face, and so much more with her best friend Will Riker without ever leaving Enterprise?  
He was losing Deanna. There was no way it could work... or was there? If he managed to swallow his pride and ask transfer to Enterprise, maybe he could still turn it around.

He would never admit it outloud, but maybe the other Riker was right when soon after their first meeting he implied Tom quits too easy. Either Will saw right through him or he knew it from personal experience - it didn’t matter now. Tom didn’t consider himself a quitter - he survived on his own for so long, and he was always ambitions, he never backed down from danger... but somehow meeting his other version showed him that he did back down - not from danger to his life, but from a danger of failing. He was a very proud man - he was able to admit as much - and usually it wasn’t a problem. But it was the same pride that told him to run from the Enterprise... he did not want to compete with commander Riker when he felt he could lose so easily. Maybe on some other ship he would have a chance to catch up, and to then return and compete as an equal... that was what he thought at the time. It felt so unfair that he was forgotten on the base for eight years, while someone else took his place, got a promotion for his actions and carried on. It felt like he was robbed: of his future, of his career, of his name even. So he ran. But there was no running. Certainly not if he wanted to be with Deanna. Commander William Riker wasn’t going anywhere, so if Tom wanted a chance to get back what he wanted so badly he would have to meet his fears head on. He would have to play on commander’s territory... and he will have to win, to show the world he was as much a real William T. Riker as the other one.

He nodded to himself. There was a newfound self-confidence in his look. Somehow taking on that challenge made him feel better. Challenges were what he was good at.


	2. Chapter 2

After Gandhi, Enterprise looked and felt huge, buzzing with people, almost visibly vibrating with the fast life of the Starfleet flagman. Thomas stepped down from the transporter platform. It took few months to put the transfer through and to organize for Tom and his new ship to be close enough for him to come aboard, but finally he was here. An engineer in a transporter room smiled at him and said: "Welcome aboard". He smiled back at her and nodded, trying not to give away his nervousness.  
It took him a second to notice there was someone else in the room. Lieutenant Commander Data, Chief Operations officer - an android, as Tom learned in his preparation for the transfer - was here to give him a briefing and to show him to his quarters. He was looking at Tom quizzically, though not unfriendly. After the introductions, when they were walking through long busy Enterprise corridors, android finally let it out.  
“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question, lieutenant?”  
“Go ahead.”  
“I noticed you have changed your appearance. Is it so that you are not mistaken for commander Riker?”  
“In a way, yes.”  
“But you and commander wear different colors, since he is in command, and you are in operations. Would it not be enough?”  
Thomas frowned - it was not a topic he would expect to discuss with his superior officer on his first day. But to back down wasn’t in his habits.  
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”  
“Granted.”  
“The thing is, it’s not just for the practicality. Me and commander... we are different people. I don’t want others to be confused about it.”  
“Do you imply, then, that eight years of different experiences were more defining for who you are than the previous twenty six years? Are they of more value because they are most recent?”  
Tom shrugged at that, he wished he knew the answers himself.  
“Maybe... I guess you can say that I choose to believe we are different to get a clear sense of self-identity. It helps that I can’t imagine making the same choices he did. Why all the interest, sir?”  
“This is a unique situation, and I am curious about it. Forgive me if my questions make you... uncomfortable. I consider commander Riker one of my friends. I wonder whether it means that we will, as well, become friends - or whether those differences you talked about make it unlikely.”  
“I guess we’ll see... to be honest you behave more human, than I expected. Hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries here...” - he grinned. “I didn’t expect you would wish to make friends. Aren’t you a bit out of our league with your advanced abilities?”  
Data seemed to actually consider the question for a second before tilting his head a bit and replying in the most state-of-fact manner.  
“I do not believe so. It has been my wish for a long time to become human, even if it meant giving up most of my, as you called it, advanced abilities. I found that I have learned a lot about what it means to be human through the friendships I have.”  
Tom smiled at that. Maybe this Pinocchio was closer to his dream than he realized.  
“In that case, Mr. Data, I’ll be honoured to be your friend.”  
“Thank you lieutenant. These are your quarters, I will see you later.”

***  
On the Enterprise Thomas was yet again assigned to Operations. His luckier counterpart got a promotion after the teleport accident, but that was 8 years ago, and Starfleet was not willing to give a commanding position to someone who just spent almost a decade in solitary. He had a lot to catch up on, and he knew it. Riker was always very driven, he knew how to organise his time and how to work hard, and so he did: spending his free time with library tapes and in engineering, or asking Data about major events over the years he lost. Some things he learned delighted him - new races and forms of life discovered, new alliances formed, new technologies built... as always, Federation moved fast. And some other things left him hurt and angry. He lost a few good friends when the Borg attacked Starfleet, and even if no one he knew personally was there - it was such a tragedy, so many lives lost in such a short time. And unfortunately it was not the only tragedy he missed, though for humanity it might have been the biggest. Then there were also friends he lost without ever having a chance to meet them. He found that even though he has never met Tasha, he was sad over her death, and he wished he knew her. Data mentioned that there was one more person on board in a similar situation, and that was how he met Guinan. Guinan seemed to be perpetually amused with almost everything around her, but she also seemed to get it a little bit - that feeling of coming from a different reality and realising you have to find your place all over again.

For the first couple of weeks Thomas startled people - they didn’t quite know how to react to another Riker on board - but weirdly enough they got used to it pretty fast, and in no time he was treated just as if he had different face and voice. Enterprise was an amazing ship, and her big crew seemed ready to anything. With all they’ve been through it shouldn’t have been any surprise, but Thomas still couldn’t help feeling lucky. He felt more at home here by the end of the first week than on Gandhi after few months. It wasn’t just that he made friends here - people who knew the other Riker so well they did not confuse them with each other. It wasn’t just the presence of Deanna with whom they easily fell into flirting and rediscovering their deep connection of trust and love. It was Enterprise as a whole - the best ship in Starfleet with the best crew and the most challenging work. At first it took all he had to keep up with others, and then it took even more to pick up the speed and move forward. Thomas thrived in those conditions. The only dark spot was the presence of commander.

There was no open animosity between them, and certainly no hatred, but there was a constant tension, a constant mutual distance and a light disapproval. Thomas found the commander to be overly authoritative and smug, and also surprisingly cautious. It was obvious that he was no coward, but somehow first officer often reminded Tom a mother hen: always choosing the safest option, always planning for a failure. In that at least they were definitely very different. Tom still couldn’t understand how could the other Riker not only break up with Deanna but also miss all the chances of reuniting with her over the six years they served together. He knew Deanna would not have been against it if commander persisted, so it must’ve been the other Riker’s decision. Maybe it was that new cautious approach of his - to never take chances, to always choose the safest route - that led them where they were now, close friends and no more. Whatever it was, Tom was not going to repeat that mistake. He was quite happy to be with Deanna once again. They were happy.


	3. Plot bunnies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I figured I'm not finishing this properly any time soon, so might as well release the bunnies. Hop hop.

As Tom and Deanna spend more and more time together, Will is getting more and more annoyed. One time Deanna misses their pre-arranged friend date, and he finds her with Tom, he storms out and understands that he is jealous. Friendship was enough for him when Deanna was always there, but now if he wants her back, it cannot be just friendship. He is very conflicted, guilty over rejecting her for so long, but in the end he is too selfish to give up and let her be.

Tom helps Will’s case by demanding Will stopped flirting with her (which he was doing, like, always).

And so naturally Will decides to get Deanna’s attention back. More flirting, more friend-dates when Tom is busy, all the charm out. Deanna is confused, and then amused, but still confused. Will, pushed to talk, tells her he loves her, and that he doesn’t want to miss another chance to stop being lonely, there really aren’t any good reasons for him to keep insisting on it, so if she could please give him a chance... Tom is furious. Guys verbally fight, conflict intensifies... at some point that happens in front of Deanna, and she says that she loves them both, different that they are, she cannot choose not to love one of them. And adds, that in her culture polyamory is not a problem, so does it really have to be so complicated? Both Rikers are scandalised OF COURSE, but Deanna has a moment of genius and says either they play nicely, or they don’t play at all, but she is not a prize and she will not be forced to deny a person she loves that love.

And so the polyamory begins, ahaha, just for Deanna at this point. Begrudgingly Rikers arrange to take turns for dates. Bridge crew is watching this like O_O. Worf is confused and angry because Worf, Miles is like “go for it buddy”, Data says something accidentally wise to both of them, Picard is desperately trying to stay out of it, Beverly is happy for Deanna and that Will is finally listening to his heart, and Georgy is watching the whole thing mostly through Data’s comments/questions.

Tom and Will are both jealous and compete in who is best for Deanna. They also learn more about each other in the process and can’t help but respect and admire one another, which is weird and awkward but also how can they not. Will admires how fast Tom is learning and how hard he is working, and that he doesn’t give up and takes chances where Will himself grew lazy. That inspires him, and he picks up another area of expertise. Tom starts to understand how much Will sacrificed to be where he is, and to take care of those under his wing. He learns about tough life-and-death decisions that Will makes regularly as number one, and he learns about him refusing the power of Q. He also gets a glimpse into the whole Deanna situation, and how hard it was for Will to keep away from her without hurting her even more. Basically, Tom stops seeing a dick in him and starts respecting him, despite the choices Will made that Tom thinks he wouldn’t have.

At some point they are in the room, all three of them, maybe one Riker showing up just as another one was leaving. One of them kisses Deanna. The second one goes for it too. Deanna all too happy to oblige and pulls the first one in as well. They freeze for a moment, then carry on, first trying to compete, then realizing they don’t have to, she is actually enjoying and accepting them both, so they relax and just make love to the woman they love. Afterwards they all lie in bed together, Rikers caressing Deanna’s body. They don’t say much.

It repeats, and it is not an accident the next time, or the time after that. Rikers get more comfortable with each other physically, they grow used to accidental touches intended for Deanna landing on each other’s bodies. They stop seeing themselves in each other - just two people who look similar, who are comfortable with each other, and respect each other, and who are both crazy attractive. One day it escalates. Tom is the one usually taking chances, but it’s Will who takes it this time and kisses Tom over Deanna’s shoulder. Tom takes on the challenge. Deanna is all encouraging and FINALLY YOU GUYS and helps them.

They are a team, and they grow into being a family. Lwaxana stumbles upon them on one of her visits and is actually surprised for once, then delighted, says something Lwaxana-ish embarassing and wise and true, and that's a wrap up. For the fic.


End file.
